


Yet Another Hazard of Working in the Nether

by Sharo



Category: Hermitcraft
Genre: 1.16 Nether Update, Gen, Hermits once again taking care of their admin, Hurt/Comfort, Overworking, StrideSuma, Tooth-Rotting fluffy ending, Whump, all the Hermits are good bros, heat exhaustion, someone teach me to write good angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26727250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharo/pseuds/Sharo
Summary: Just when you thought it was safe to work for hours...or maybe days at a time. It's hard to keep track when the clock just spins. Maybe we need a leash on him?
Comments: 12
Kudos: 138





	Yet Another Hazard of Working in the Nether

False was measuring out the dimensions for the start of the new nether hub, precariously balanced above the lava ocean below. The new sounds of the piglins mixed in with the more familiar grunts of the zombified version provided a sometimes amusing soundtrack to her work as she kept an ear out for ghast cries.

She waved at her friends as they flew past, like a constant flow in and out of the nearby portal. Most were off working on their own new bases or mining projects. The race for netherite and resources was just like a season start, all over again.

Finishing up her markers, she packed away her shulker box, finally satisfied with its location. She took one more loop around to make sure she didn't leave anything behind. Instead, she spotted a diamond and gold-armoured figure far below, at the gravel shore of the lava ocean. 

False coasted down without rockets, landing silently on the netherrack and freezing for a few ticks at the sound of quiet talking and laughter. But she couldn't make out the voice from this far away, and the figure was standing a block below her, hiding any identifying features.

"Hey there!" She walked across the slightly squishy netherrack, calling out to the other Hermit. They turned towards her, for a moment looking like a blank dark face beneath the gold helmet. It took a moment to recognize the new red painted helmet, the small strider eyes at the sides nearly lost beneath the armour.

"False! Hi!" Xisuma leaned forward, nearly missing his step as his helmet bobbed at her.

"X? Are you all right?"

He nodded so hard he overbalanced, stumbling back towards the lava ocean. He threw his arms wide, catching the netherrack beside him and turning the misstep into a wide gesture at the lava ocean. "Join us! We were just...we were…" he seemed to lose his train of thought in the middle of it.

False stepped closer, until she could take a seat beside him on the raised netherrack ledge. "X, how long have you been out here?"

"Hmm? Oh, not all that long." He tilted his head back to look up at her. "I saw you working, stopped to watch for a bit." He leaned a little too far, and fell back against her leg with a laugh. "I was chatting with the striders while you worked, but then my potion wore off. So now I'm just chatting with…" he trailed off, looking around. "Hey, where'd they go?" He pushed himself to his feet, stumbling towards the lava lake.

False grabbed his hand before he could take another dip. "Who were you talking to, X? You were alone when I spotted you."

Xisuma shook his head and removed the gold helmet, storing it away. With a little encouragement he sat back down, crossing his legs and resting his red helmet on a fist. "No, I was talking with Keralis, he was just here."

"No," False drew it out, the uneasiness growing. "Xisuma, he was here this morning, when I first started. You were upstairs showing him the roof tunnel, remember?"

He nodded sideways, the little decorations on his helmet swinging. "Sure, sure. And then there was the hoglin farm, and the elytra markers, and the head shop, and-"

False already had her communicator out and was typing away. "Uh huh, you did all of that today, X?" She glanced up to see him slowly slumping forward, only to jerk back up when his helmet fell off his hand.

"What? Oh, sure."

She got a reply and stowed the device away. "Come on, X. Let's head back to the shopping district, okay?"

He nodded again, making no move to stand. "I was there earlier, got a new shop opened up." His voice trailed off, waving at something behind her.

"Wow, X. That costume is kinda scary." Iskall came up to the little area, waving at False as she turned around. "Saw your message, figured you could use a hand."

Xisuma nodded, over exaggerated. "She's been working on the new hub, we can get started on connecting our bases soon."

Iskall put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. "Weren't you working on your upside down tower yesterday? How long have you been in the nether, man?" He barely gave him a moment to think about it. "Come on, that void brain of yours is probably overheating being here so long. Up and at 'em, on your feet."

Xisuma waved him off, clambering to his feet. "It's fine, I'm fine." He seemed to think about it for a moment, then turned back to False. "What's at the shopping district we need to look at?"

False huffed at him and rolled her eyes. "Town hall, X. Scar and Bdubs are waiting for us." 

"Oh, right." He started off toward the stairs, leaving False staring at Iskall.

"He hasn't slept, has he." Iskall didn't bother making it a question.

False sighed. "He just listed off like, seven projects he's been working on "since this morning"." She dropped the air quotes and turned with him to follow their Admin up to the portals level. "It's a safe bet he's either not sleeping, or been in this heat too long."

Iskall cackled, dodging a wandering zombie piglin before catching up to her. "He is so stubborn again. Is this all because of the peaceful thing with the reset?"

"Who knows." She guided the wayward admin back towards the portal when he tried to start a conversation with the armoured piglin standing in the corner. "But the new nether is definitely not the place to zone out."

Scar and BdoubleO were waiting when they stepped through into the sunshine of the shopping district. Xisuma waved and swayed on his feet with the motion.

Bdubs stepped away from Scar to catch at his hand before he walked into the tunnel wall. “Hey there, Sisuma. When was the last time you slept, buddy?”

Scar traded a look with False and Iskall. “Hmm, I’d say not recently, Bdubs.”

“No, no. It’s fine, I’m fine.” Xisuma tried to wave them off, push off of Bdubs’ helping hands, reeling drunkenly. “I’ll just head back to my tower…” 

Bdubs and False both caught him as he crumpled, Bdubs wincing at the heat coming off of his armour.

“Man, is his armor supposed to hold heat like this?” Bdubs adjusted his grip, pulling his shirt up to protect the back of his bare neck.

False glanced at him and then Scar. “I’ve been in the nether for the last couple of hours, I didn’t notice it.”

“Alright, get him into the town hall, I’ll grab some ice from Etho’s shop.” Iskall was already running towards it. 

Scar hovered as they ascended the stairs, Xisuma barely lifting his feet as False and Bdubs carried him along. His helmet sank lower against his chest as they started to climb, not even making it halfway up the stairs before he was deadweight between them.

"Set him down, Bdubs." False couldn't panic, that would just set off the other two. They propped Xisuma up against the short stair walls. "Zuma? X?" She patted the side of the helmet, concerned again at Xisuma's new penchant for hiding his face.

His head bobbed up with a sudden intake of breath. "M aw'ke."

Bdubs forced a laugh. "No, man. You're really not." He glanced up at Scar, seeming to have a similar thought as False. 

"New plan," False directed. "I don't think we're gonna get him inside."

She pushed Xisuma back up as he started sliding sideways. 

"Come on, X. Take your helmet off for a minute, let's get you cooled down."

He batted at her hands, reeling back into the wall.

"C'n do it."

She planted her fists on her hips. "If you don't take that helmet off, I'm going to dunk you--armour and all--into the lake."

His fingers were fumbling at the latches under his chin. "Tha's not.. bad idea…"

"X?" She reached to help him as he lifted the helmet off with shaking hands. His face was flushed and hair matted with sweat, leaning back against the wall again. She brushed her fingers across his forehead, holding back a sigh at the feverish heat she could still feel there. “Seriously, how long were you in the nether?”

His hand flopped against his lap, barely a wave. "Dunno.. 't day is it?"

"That's not funny, X."

His eyes were slipping closed again, chin dropping to his chest. "Too l'ng, thn'k."

False bit back a growl of frustration. "X, don't fall asleep on me." She shook his shoulder, noticing the heat of his armour now that she'd had time outside of the nether. His head rolled loosely, not fighting her. "Okay, cold dip time."

Bdubs stepped back as she scooped Xisuma up, steadying her with a hand at her back as she found her balance. She ignored the warmth for a moment as she concentrated on making it back down the steps they had managed to climb. She thanked the stars that the little lake nearby hadn't been completely lost to terraforming yet, taking hurried steps to the edge before plunging in with Xisuma.

Steam hissed against the armour briefly and cleared. Scar was in the water a moment later on Xisuma's other side, supporting his weight as False sat back. 

"Bdubs, can you check Stress' shop for potions? Regen if she's in stock, and a fire resist might help him cool down. I'll pay for it later, don't worry about the diamond."

Scar was cupping his hands in the water and dripping it down the back of Xisuma’s head, ignoring for the moment how it dripped inside his armour. "Man, twice in one season." He offered False a little smile, talking to relieve his nervousness. "You've seen Ren's sunburn, right? At least he had the ocean right there, but someone should have told him water reflects the sun even if it's cooling ya' off."

Iskall rocketed across the mycelium towards them, landing at a running pace before bringing himself to a stop. "Ice in the water?" False nodded and he set one to each side of Scar and Xisuma. It didn't steam like the armour had, but it melted quickly between them and the afternoon sun. Iskall placed another set of ice blocks and nudged off his boots, dipping his feet in the cool water beside them as he waited with them.

"There's no splash potions, False." Bdubs called as he returned as well. "Will that be a problem?"

“X? Can you drink a potion for us?” 

Iskall kicked at the melting ice block, laughing as it bobbed in the water and lodged against the red armour. “Just tilt his head back and pour it down. Probably should get some plain water in him as well.”

False shook her head. “I’d rather he not choke on it, Iskall.” She placed the back of her hand against Xisuma’s forehead, catching his gaze as his eyes blinked open. “Hey, X. Your temperature is dropping, think you can manage a potion?” He was still much too limp, but at least his eyes were focusing again.

“Water?”

She offered him the regen potion instead, helping steady his hand when he couldn’t seem to grip the bottle. “This first, then some water, okay?”

“Or just dunk his head under- hey!” Iskall cackled as Bdubs pushed him into the little pond as well, managing to keep his head up and out of the one-block deep water. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that, mister sleep-master.” He grabbed for Bdubs’ shoes, laughing as he missed and Bdubs danced away. “Get back here and let me dunk you!”

A small smile tugged at Xisuma’s lips as he finished the potion, distracted by their antics. False waited a moment for the regen to kick in before handing him a water bottle, his hands steadier this time. He finished that off with a sigh, handing her back the empty bottle.

“Thanks.”

Scar tapped his backplate lightly. “First too cold in the overworld, now you’re overheating in the nether.” There was an undercurrent of worry beneath the teasing tone. “Does our strider need a keeper?”

Xisuma chuckled and unbuckled his light armour, letting False lift them out and set them to the side of the pond. “No, Scar, I don’t think so. But thank you for the help my friends.” He leaned forward for a moment, resting his forehead against False’s. “I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.”

She accepted his apology with a little smile. “Just don’t make a habit of it.” She watched as he sat back and offered the same gesture to Scar, the builder pulling him in for a hug afterwards. “Now I think we all take the rest of the afternoon off and-”

A wave of water crested over her, drenching her hair and knocking her goggles askew. Spluttering laughter behind her made no secret of the culprits. Scar giggled into Xisuma’s shoulder as their exhausted admin covered his own laugh with a gloved hand.

“False? I’m sorry, but Iskall- I mean, um…” 

Bdubs stood behind her, a shaking hand on her shoulder. She knew her teeth were showing as she grinned beneath the mess of her wet hair. Her hand clamped on Bdubs’ wrist, and it was a simple matter of leverage as she stood and hefted him forward over her shoulder as she fell back, both catching him and directing the wave of his splashdown over Scar and Xisuma.

Laughter and splashing filled the shopping district, happy sounds after a long day of building and grinding. And if there was a group of Hermits camping out under the stars in the safety of the island biome, then that made it just another day among friends, in the world they’d built together.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a call at work I took back in the heat of July, of a guy "having an enthusiastic conversation with a lightpole". Turned out he was overheated and a little delirious. Didn't quite work in the lightpole, but this fell out all the same. ^__^


End file.
